Margaret Mead is famous for noting, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." In many communities there are numerous groups for individuals to support one another's efforts to make changes in their lives and in the world.

Your life story is the accumulation of experi­ences you have had in the physical realm, but it is not who you are in your essence. Who you are is far greater than you can ever imagine. Who you are is...

Research in animal models with different genetics shows that one diet really doesn’t fit all, and what works for some may not be best for others, according to a Texas A&M study published in the journal Genetics.

So you think the Loch Ness Monster never existed? That the story is a cunningly cobbled-together fiction intended to boost tourist interest in an otherwise unrelentingly dull (only to some) part of mid-Scotland? Think again.

We all have hopes, dreams, and desires that inspire our lives. We all strive to attain happiness in life. If we agree on this common goal, we may ask our­selves how we can reliably achieve it. We recognize that love is a key factor in realizing happiness, yet we...

Colloquially, “being authentic” usually describes someone sincerely speaking his deep inner thoughts, a supposedly honest monologue, one that is often critical about something emotionally stinging or at least sensitive, and marginally beyond the scope of what we consider to be normal, acceptable, or polite everyday conversation.

Everyone knows what it feels like to have consciousness: it’s that self-evident sense of personal awareness, which gives us a feeling of ownership and control over the thoughts, emotions and experiences that we have every day.

After decades of intense observation and campaigning by conservation groups, awareness of microplastic pollution has fortunately grown.

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Natalie Welden, The Open University)FeaturedEnvironmentSocial & PoliticalSun, 10 Dec 2017 11:54:04 -0500Why Do We Always Seem To Repeat The Same Lesson?https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/relationships/5180-always-the-same-lesson.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/relationships/5180-always-the-same-lesson.html

Have you ever noticed that lessons tend to repeat themselves? Does it seem as if you married or dated the same person several times in different bodies with different names? Have you run into the same type of boss over and over again? Do you find yourself having the same problem with many different coworkers?

Every time you go online, people are competing for your attention. Friends, strangers, businesses, political organisations, charities and news websites all serve up a constant stream of eye-catching pictures, videos and articles, wherever you might go looking for information

How young children use screen devices, rather than how much time they spend using the devices, may be the strongest predictor of emotional or social problems connected with screen addiction, new research suggests.

This weekly astrological journal is based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

The theme this week is "know thyself". This wise advice goes back centuries and probably millennia. Since the key to happiness and inner peace lies in knowing who we are, we bring you articles to assist you in this journey of discovery...

What awaits you if you are willing to trust the unlimited frequency of YES will be an extraordinarily rewarding life, one that has unlimited possibilities. The YES Frequency embodies all the “hopes and dreams” of your life. We are not talking about saying yes to any negative issues...

Low back pain is a common problem affecting more than 80% of us at some point in our lives. Recommended treatments include staying active and, if possible, avoiding strong pain medicines such as opioids.

American film director Judd Apatow once confessed to Stephen Colbert that he’d been mispronouncing his wife's name for nearly two decades. He’d been saying “Lez-lee”, while she pronounces it as “Less-lee”. When he asked her why she hadn’t corrected his mistake, she said she “thought he wouldn’t be able to make the adjustment”.

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Roslyn Petelin, The University of Queensland)FeaturedCommunicationRelationshipsPersonal DevelopmentFri, 08 Dec 2017 09:08:44 -0500What History Teaches Us About Living More Simple, Less Consumerist Lifestyleshttps://www.innerself.com/content/social/trends/8912-history-teaches-us-about-living-more-simple-less-consumerist-lifestyles.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/social/trends/8912-history-teaches-us-about-living-more-simple-less-consumerist-lifestyles.html

When Pope Francis assumed office, he turned his back on a luxury Vatican palace and opted instead to live in a small guest house. He has also become known for taking the bus rather than riding in the papal limousine...

Thriving in life requires fortitude. It's a strength that Professor Cornel West refers to as spiritual fortitude. What gives us power in life, he says, is not anything in the world, but our own internal resources.

There's one brain bias that affects 80% of adults and it has a familiar name you may not expect: optimism. It can be hugely helpful in our social lives and in keeping us motivated even if the trade off is, at times, the denial of reality.

Why does the body seem to betray you? It's a belief. You're fight­ing it mentally, but you haven't let yourself experience and feel what it's like to absolutely be in your body. Just as the Earth is the body of this planet, your biology is the body of your soul. If you're aging, if you look in the mirror and say...

So in the early days, including from the time of Aristotle and later in the 16th and 17th century most of physiognomy consisted of this whimsical comparisons between the physiognomy of humans and animals.

Even before this year’s devastating hurricane season, the team of demographers I work with at Penn State and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics had predicted that the population of Puerto Rico would decline over the next few decades.

Republicans in Congress recently released more details of their tax plan, which they say would boost economic growth and lower the burden on middle-income households. They hope to pass a bill into law by Christmas.

Decisions span a vast range of complexity. There are really simple ones: Do I want an apple or a piece of cake with my lunch? Then there are much more complicated ones: Which car should I buy, or which career should I choose?

As Movember has come to a close, and men flaunt or shave the facial hair they have grown, there is something people should know — prostate cancer screening is ineffective and can do more harm than good.

I have a tiny suspicion that someday, far in the future, people will look back at our ideas about the right brain-left brain dichotomy and laugh. I suspect they will wonder at our lack of understanding, in much the same way that today we cringe at outdated medieval medical practices.

There’s always much talk (and a fair amount of hype!) when Mercury turns retrograde, most of it pretty negative and doom laden. Mention of travel disruption, communication breakdown & misunderstandings abound. People roll their eyes and brace themselves for a few weeks of...

]]>sarahvarcas@innerself.ca (Sarah Varcas)Featured Retrograde PlanetsPlanets & TransitsAstrologyIntuition & AwarenessPersonal DevelopmentTue, 05 Dec 2017 06:29:00 -0500Why Three Or Four Cups Of Coffee A Day Does You More Good Than Harmhttps://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/food-and-nutrition/healing-diet/16427-why-three-or-four-cups-of-coffee-a-day-does-you-more-good-than-harm.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/food-and-nutrition/healing-diet/16427-why-three-or-four-cups-of-coffee-a-day-does-you-more-good-than-harm.html

Drinking moderate amounts of coffee – about three or four cups a day – is more likely to benefit our health than harm it, our latest research shows.

What happens in the early years of a person’s life has a profound effect on how they fare later on. Thousands of research papers have shown that children who get a poor start in life are much more likely to experience difficulties as adults...

Keep moving on the spiritual path from the lower truth to higher truth, until you come to that place deep within you, one that is silent, that is peaceful, and that is pure beingness and beyond judgment. As you progress, keep letting go of the many impurities that get stuck to the so-called religious and spiritual paths and “isms.”

Many of the fears that parents have and try to hide from their children are not quite hidden. Emotional fears, financial, or any fear at all is picked up on by children. The good news is that fear is normal. We all have fears...

Parents and teachers are painfully aware that it’s nearly impossible to get a teenager to focus on what you think is important. Even offering them a bribe or issuing a stern warning will typically fail. There may be many reasons for that...

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Gina Rippon, Aston University)FeaturedParentingRelationshipsPersonal DevelopmentSun, 03 Dec 2017 16:38:37 -0500The Power of Illness and Living in the Here and Nowhttps://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/healing-disciplines/5002-the-power-of-illness.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/healing-disciplines/5002-the-power-of-illness.html

In ancient Greece, there were temples with rooms to which sick people could retreat. This was a time of quiet introspection, based on the understanding that illness is a sacred space where inner work can be done, so that healing may come from the core of our being.

We Americans are caught in a web of our own cre­ation. We celebrate the individual; we praise self-reliance. We have built our entire economic system on competition and striving, where we set ourselves one against the other... Is this truly the vision of who we want to be and what we wish to pass along to our children?

Conformity is how we have been conditioned to participate in a false sense of security which results in us being out of integrity with ourselves. On a deep, unconscious level we are aware of this and this awareness largely informs our suffering.

Although propaganda is as ancient as civilization itself, it has taken on a new force with the ubiquitous power of modern technology. This enhanced form of reality manipulation is used to influence us regarding the most trivial to the most momentous situations, and these persuasive techniques have far-reaching effects on the human condition.

In any culture, children hit by a natural disaster will see family members undergo huge amounts of stress and worry. They may be forced to live in temporary accommodation, and experience many changes to their usual routines and social circles.

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Florence Halstead, University of Hull)FeaturedParentingRelationshipsPersonal DevelopmentSat, 02 Dec 2017 20:49:26 -0500Do Different Drinks Make You Different Drunk?https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/happiness-and-self-help/performance/16415-do-different-drinks-make-you-different-drunk.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/happiness-and-self-help/performance/16415-do-different-drinks-make-you-different-drunk.html

Reports of a study linking different kinds of alcoholic drinks with different mood states were making the rounds recently.

Dogs have significantly more neurons in their cerebral cortex—”little gray cells” associated with thinking, planning, and complex behavior considered hallmarks of intelligence—than cats, researchers report.

I once read a quote by Hugh Downs that said, “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” We only have to compare two people in the exact same circumstances—one happy, one not—to know just how true...

This weekly astrological journal is based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

This week we dare take a look at our dark side, and also learn to befriend our shadow. As you scroll down through this week's articles, you will find the words fear, shadow, stress, manipulation, pain. Yet you also find the balance in the themes of kindness, love, prayer, compassion, vision, meditation, creating a better world, and choosing love over fear.

An elementary schoolteacher asked her students to describe in a sentence, “What is love?” The teacher received many humorous and touching answers, yet the one that moved her the most was: “Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”

There is a large billboard sign along the Saw Mill River Parkway north of New York City that reads in big bold letters, “Prayer Works.” There are no other words on the sign. A man named Tom rode by that sign every single day on his way to work. He did not believe in prayer and he scoffed at the sign each day.

Forgiveness is radical. Both forgiving and asking for forgiveness go against deeply ingrained psychological and political truths. We fight against it. We reject its premises. We think we want to be -- or at least, want to appear to be -- blameless at all times. By forgiving another...

The election of the sixth Labour-led government heralds a new direction for climate change policy in New Zealand. As part of the new government’s 100-day priority plan, it pledged to set a target of carbon neutrality by 2050 and to establish the mechanisms to phase out fossil fuels.

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Amanda Williams, University of Bristol)FeaturedParentingRelationshipsPersonal DevelopmentThu, 30 Nov 2017 18:25:22 -0500How Gendered Language Shapes The Way We See The Worldhttps://www.innerself.com/content/social/culture-wars/16408-how-gendered-language-shapes-the-way-we-see-the-world.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/social/culture-wars/16408-how-gendered-language-shapes-the-way-we-see-the-world.html

Is water male or female – and does it really matter? English does not allocate gender to words. Although some things, ships and countries for example, often have feminine associations, there are no grammatical rules to make something either male or female.

You will never be Jesus or Mother Teresa or Buddha or Pema Chodron or Buckminster Fuller or Eckhart Tolle (to name a few great teachers at random). You can only be yourself every moment. Discover who you are, and you find your own unique path along the way.

Chocolate lovers probably don’t want any new reasons to feel guilty about eating chocolate. But there is growing public awareness of the impact of cocoa on tropical forests, particularly in West Africa, where two-thirds of the world’s cocoa is produced.

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in media reports about postnatal depression and other maternal mental illnesses, and campaigns have led to greater understanding about the need for more specialist services.

No sooner had I made the decision to spend several months in the mountains of northern New Mexico, than my inner knowingness guided me to the timeless, secluded village of Chimayo. Little did I suspect that this idyllic setting would host a gut-wrenching transformation..

These days, with the rise of social media apps like Facebook and Instagram, it is easier than ever to benchmark the number of “friends” you have against your peers.

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Ashley Whillans, Harvard Business School and Frances Chen, University of British Columbia)FeaturedFear and WorryAttitude AdjustmentsPersonal DevelopmentTue, 28 Nov 2017 22:15:24 -0500When It Comes To Mental Health, A Problem Shared Can Be A Problem Doubledhttps://www.innerself.com/content/personal/relationships/communication/16398-when-it-comes-to-mental-health-a-problem-shared-can-be-a-problem-doubled.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/relationships/communication/16398-when-it-comes-to-mental-health-a-problem-shared-can-be-a-problem-doubled.html

People discuss their problems with friends in the hope that they’ll gain some insight into how to solve them. How problems are discussed, though, can be the difference between halving a problem or doubling it.

Certain cognitive training via the computer may reduce the risk of dementia among older adults, researchers report. “…we found that those who received more training also gained a greater protective benefit…”

Hundreds of the world’s top websites routinely track a user’s every keystroke, mouse movement and input into a web form – even before it’s submitted or later abandoned, according to the results of a study from researchers at Princeton University.

All of us have a genius within us. For Steven Spielberg, it was in film. All of us can experience the benefits of a purposeful life, yet few make it their life purpose to find the genius within themselves. This purpose includes...

What is net neutrality, this policy Ajit Pai, President Trump’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has spent years criticizing? Here are some highlights of The Conversation’s coverage of the controversy around the concept of keeping the internet open...

Motivation, rather than habit, drives addictive behavior in the face of adverse consequences and constantly changing circumstances, new research suggests. “We’re challenging the definition of addiction as a habit…”

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (The University of Michigan)FeaturedBehavior ModificationAttitude AdjustmentsPersonal DevelopmentMon, 27 Nov 2017 17:22:50 -0500New Research Suggests Common Herbicides Are Linked To Antibiotic Resistancehttps://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/environmental/16395-new-research-suggests-common-herbicides-are-linked-to-antibiotic-resistance.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/living/health/environmental/16395-new-research-suggests-common-herbicides-are-linked-to-antibiotic-resistance.html

Antibiotics are losing their ability to kill bacteria. One of the main reasons for the rise in antibiotic resistance is the improper use of antibiotics, but our latest research shows that the ingredients in commonly-used weed killers like Round-up and Kamba can also cause bacteria to become less susceptible to antibiotics.

For as long as we have been able to stand upright and speak, we have told stories. They explained the mysteries of the world: birth, death, the seasons, day and night. They were the origins of human creativity, expressed in words but also in pictures...

]]>bobby@innerselfadmin.com (Marguerite Johnson, University of Newcastle)FeaturedLeisure & CreativityLiving in HarmonyMon, 27 Nov 2017 17:07:24 -0500Do You Really Ask for Help When You Need It?https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/spirituality-mindfulness/religions-a-beliefs/8610-do-you-really-ask-for-help-when-you-need-it.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/spirituality-mindfulness/religions-a-beliefs/8610-do-you-really-ask-for-help-when-you-need-it.html

I ask you to think about this question: do you really ask for help when you need it? If the answer is yes, do you ask for assistance with the little things in your life or only the big-ticket items? And who or what defines little...

None of us can afford to assume that somebody else will solve our problems; each of us must take his or her own share of universal responsibility. The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life.

]]>admin@innerself.ca (The Dalai Lama)FeaturedReformsDemocracySocial & PoliticalSun, 26 Nov 2017 12:23:00 -0500Searching for Heart in a World of Reason https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/intuition-awareness/intuitive-awareness/16390-searching-for-heart-in-a-world-of-reason.html
https://www.innerself.com/content/personal/intuition-awareness/intuitive-awareness/16390-searching-for-heart-in-a-world-of-reason.html

In our lives there are two great sources of information for perceiving and navigating the world available to us: the rational, analytical way of the mind, and the soulful felt sense of the heart. Of these two, the conscious mind completely dominates our modern...

The longevity and genius of shamanism is that, in part, it is not hidebound to methodology. As such, shamanism is always metamorphosing as it evolves in response to the current, always-changing circumstances of the world (like the weather!).

Type “Holy Grail” into Google and … well, you probably don’t need me to finish that sentence. The sheer multiplicity of what any search engine throws up demonstrates that there is no clear consensus as to what the Grail is or was.

Black Friday is upon us once again. Deals for cut-price clothes, televisions, appliances – you name it – are popping up. And for a limited time only. While stocks last, you could snag a bargain before Christmas.

Remember the movie “Moneyball”? The Oakland A’s are struggling, financially and on the baseball field.Then they introduce an innovative system for figuring out which players will improve team performance.

Masculinity is often, these days, described as “toxic”. In May, Hillary Clinton spoke at a gala where “toxic masculinity” cocktails were reported to have been served. Toxic masculinity even has its own Wikipedia entry.

Parents are repeatedly told to watch what they are feeding their children, but they must also keep a keen eye on how much of it they are serving. Child portion control has become so much of a problem that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared families’ healthy food portions critical to childhood weight management.

Throughout the ages, our great spiritual and philosophical masters have taught us that if there is a certain effect you desire, there are certain causes that must be initiated to manifest that desire. If you wish an apple tree, you must plant an apple seed.

Since World War II, rates of depression have doubled in the U.S., and depression is now the second most disabling illness in the Western world after heart disease. I have organized a holistic program for the prevention and treatment of depression into five areas — physical self-care, mental/emotional self-care, spiritual self-care, people support, and lifestyle habits.